Chapter 203 - Tentacle wave (1/2)

”I just had the best idea!” Poseidon yelled, interrupting the moment Arei and Jos were having. He clasped a hand over his son's shoulder and leaned over to better see Jos. ”Tentacle wave!”

Jos arched a brow as the corner of her lip raised. ”What?” She laughed.

”Tentacle wave!” He repeated, stepping back and holding out his arms. He made a ripple from his left hand to the bottle in his right. ”The wave, dear! Have you never been to a basketball game?! But only with your tentacles!”

Chary busted out laughing, ”That would be interesting to see, but dad you can't ask that of her!”

He scrunched his brows together. ”I can and I did. It's fine isn't it, dear.” He asked pulling Jos into a hug and away from Arei. He nodded back to his son. ”The boys have been working with her on partial shifts. I want to see her progress... and the wave... so why not combine the two!” He turned his attention back to Jos. ”You could humor an old man, right?”

Jos studied the youthful, handsome face of the sea god. Seeing no trace of malice, she finally let out a sigh. ”Fine, but you should probably step back some.” Jos closed her eyes and focused on her body. She peeked to see if it had worked after the room had gone quiet. Sure enough, two sets of tentacles were doing the wave on either side of her body. She could feel her cheeks heat and quickly retracted the tentacles.

Poseidon quickly protested. ”Ah no! I wasn't finished. I wanted to touch them... Can I touch one?” He asked moving his focus to the area of her back the tentacle had come from.

Arei wrapped a protective arm around Jos's waist and lifted her away from his father. ”No, you're not touching any part of her.” Poseidon forged a pout as he extended one hand and poked Jos's arm with his pointer finger. ”Damnit, father!” Arei barked as he blocked more of her as Poseidon leaned to the other side for another poke.

”Call me dad and I'll stop.” Poseidon insisted.

Arei rolled his eyes. ”Alright, 'dad' stop f.u.c.k.i.n.g poking my...” He stopped his words as he released Jos. Stepping away, he ran a hand through his hair.

Poseidon arched a brow as a playful smile spread across his lips. ”Go on son... stop poking your what?”

Arei looked uncomfortably from his father to Jos, before biting his bottom lip and turning back to the seating area. ”I... will be over here.” He said pointing to the seat he'd vacated earlier.

Poseidon chuckled. ”Some things definitely haven't changed.” He waggled his eyebrows at Jos as he wrapped one heavy arm over her shoulders. ”You should have him show you around the library. I'm sure even more pleasant memories are bound to resurface, the antiques room possibly.”

Chary's wide cat-who-ate-the-canary smile danced before Jos. ”Oh yes! You should do that now before you get too drunk and sleepy!” She winked at Poseidon as Jos nodded and turned toward the seats.

Arei ran a hand through his hair again as she approached. ”God's what have they put you up to now?” He asked.

Jos fumbled with the nearly empty bottle she held. ”Your dad and sister suggested I get you to show me around before we get too into this party... to help my memories come back.” She lifted the bottle. ”Good thing about this, it's numbing some of the headaches.”

Arei gave her a half-hearted smile. ”Are you sure you want to leave your friends?”

Jos glanced over to Raven and Isha who were now kissing as they danced, Peg and Andy who were in their own world as they danced... which pinged more memories... and Shelly who was now standing on her back legs with her paws in Poseidon's hands dancing around happily. Her gaze moved to Chary who made a shooing motion with her hands. Jos turned back to Arei. ”It looks like I'll not be missed if we leave for a few minutes.”

Arei ran his hand over the back of his neck as he sent his sister a skeptical look. ”Alright... Do you have any place in mind-” He caught himself. ”I guess that's a stupid question, huh...” He took her hand. ”How about I show you some of the places you liked most the last time we were here.” He bent and grabbed another bottle from the table. ”We'll both be needing this...”

Jos nodded. ”Lead the way. Also, Chary said something about antiques room. You know that's what I studied in college? I wonder if it was my mind trying to recall this place or something that led me to want to study it...”

Arei studied her thoughtful expression. ”I guess it's possible... Jos, I can't help but ask... What memories have come back? You obviously recalled Chary almost instantly.”

Jos nodded as they ventured farther away from the sounds of the small party. ”Many of my previous memories came together when I saw her. It was like finding that piece of a jigsaw puzzle that brings everything else into focus... this entire palace really... It's bringing fuller flashes on and piecing together the fragments that I had... I don't know... I guess in a way I had still wondered if this place was real or only a dream my mind had created.”

Arei nodded as he stopped in front of a door. He let out a long breath. ”Alright, here was one of your favorite rooms.” He looked away, ”Probably for more than one reason.” Instead of meeting her curious gaze, he pushed the door open. ”If something in this palace inspired your college studies, it would have been this room.” He flipped a switch on the wall causing the faint glow of the old overhead light to shine. He ran his hand over one of the old vases. ”I can't even remember how many hours we spent in here. You weren't happy until you knew the stories of every single piece.” He turned his attention back to Jos. Surprise caused the air in his lungs to seize. Her cheeks were the prettiest pink and her eyes were focused on the glowing waters of the pool at the other side of the room. ”I take it more memories came back?”

Jos nodded as she lifted the bottle in her hand and emptied it before reaching out and taking the one from him. ”You're right... this will be needed being here...” She walked directly over to the water's edge not taking notice of any of the artifacts on the many, many shelves.

Arei bent down beside her. ”What are you remembering?” He whispered, letting his hot breath tickle her bare shoulder. He watched as Jos ran her hand through the bio-luminous waters, watching as the light followed her movements.

”I was so young and dumb back then.” She chuckled. ”It must have driven you crazy.” She turned, resting her chin on her shoulder. ”I'm sorry for that.”

Arei reached out and cupped her cheek. ”You have nothing to apologize for.”

She let out an indignant snort. ”Is that so? Then I shouldn't be apologizing for hours of torture I put you through in this very room? I believe I know why your dad and sister suggested it.”

He searched her eyes as he lowered to his knees beside her. ”And why is that.” He whispered his lips only centimeters from hers.

She turned away from him and lifted the bottle to her lips again. ”Why Arei?”

”Why what, Kitten?” He asked in honest confusion as he moved to sit down beside her.

She turned her attention back to him. ”Why did you refuse this claim all those years ago? Why did you insist against it?”

His face contorted into a heavy frown. ”It wasn't just a claim father wanted, he wanted us married.”